How to develop a website in Pakistan

Are you looking to develop a website in Pakistan? or you are looking for a web developer or web development company for your website development? This article will help you choose the best web development solution based on your business needs, website size, and complexity level. There are four different ways to develop a website.

1. All by yourself website development using website builder
2. All by yourself website development using opensource applications
3. Website development by hiring a website development firm
4. Website development by hiring a freelancer

But before examining each of these web development solutions, let us discuss some key concepts you should be aware of before going into the web development phase.

To access your website throughout Pakistan or globally, you need to place your website on computers that never shut down. These computers are called web servers. These computer or web servers are available 24/7 to fulfil visitors request. There are four types of web hosting that these web servers provide. Let us explain each of these four types of web hosting so that you can have a better idea of what kind of hosting you need for your website. Skip this section if you are already aware of your web hosting requirements.

The web servers are big and fast computers with huge disk space, massive RAM, and high processing speed. Due to their fast processing speed, these computers can host hundreds of websites at a time. Typically, when we order web hosting for the website, the hosting companies allocate hosting space on these shared servers. These webservers are relatively cheaper and work perfectly for small to medium websites.

When your website traffic exceeds certain limits, you need more server resources. This is where your shared hosting capacity ends, and you need to upgrade to a more powerful web hosting known as VPS hosting.  Also, sometimes there are special requirements, e.g., a website needs to access a restricted port to operate, or it needs to install an extension that is otherwise not available on the shared hosting. In these cases, we need more customized hosting instead of shared hosting. These servers are known as VPS servers or didcicated servers.

Cloud web hosting has a different infrastructure than traditional web hosting. In traditional web hosting, your website is stored on a physical server (webserver) with the websites of other users. However, these conventional web servers are strong enough to operate even if some of their devices fail. For example, if one of their power supply or hard disk crashes, these servers have a mechanism where a secondary hard drive or power supply would take charge, and you will receive uninterrupted service. But due to their centralized architecture, these servers may cause downtime if the whole server crashes or all the power supplies of the webserver fails. As in cloud web hosting, physical servers are split into multiple virtual machines and are connected to a single network. This network of interconnected server is called cloud hosting. Due to this interconnect cloud structure, cloud hosting provides high visibility and faster speed and reliability. If one server fails, the other will take charge, and your website will keep running.

Depending upon your web development needs, you choose a website development solution where you are bound to keep your website on the server of your web development solution providers. This type of solution where your website directly runs from the solution provider’s server is called a hosted solution. Shopify and WIX are an example of hosted solutions.
Now let’s understand the difference between a Hosted solution and Shared Webhosting.

We have discussed different types of hosting. It’s time to discuss one last concept Hosted solutions vs. Shared hosting. This is essential to understand as it will help us decide which website development solution to opt for. When choosing open-source solutions like Shopify or Wix, you need to configure your website on solution providers hosting space instead of your hosting space. This type of solution where your website directly runs from the solution provider’s server is called a hosted solution.

Now let’s discuss all of these four ways you may adopt to develop a professional website for your business. We will also explain cost estimates and expected quality and resource type on each of these development methods.

1. Use Web site builders.
2. Use open-source applications.
3. Hire a web development company
4. Hire a freelance developer.

Website builders like Wix and Webflow are easy to use. These websites builder enables you to design your website through drag and drop features within hours—these kinds of website builders are also known as DIY or do-it-yourself web builders. Website developed through these DIY platforms is excellent for a small business whose sole purpose is to have an online presence. However, these web builders lack functionality like multistore management, custom shopping methods, and API integrations. Or have limited functionality like getting top SEO ranking through these web builders is almost impossible. Also, Wix and other website builders are working hard to overcome these drawbacks, but it would take some time to completely  overcome these issues.
The free version of these web builders comes with even fewer features than the paid ones. Moreover, you need to pay additional money to third-party plugins for some specific features to include in your website.
In my opinion, these site builders are suitable for small businesses that only want an online presence. However, if you are a growing company looking to create a significant impact in the market, these site builders are not for you.

Price and Reliability of this solution

Solution type: All by your self-development using ready to use website builder 

Project Size: Suitable for small business

Ease of use: Easy website development using drag-drop feature 

Expected Cost PKR:  Subscription-based normally paid monthly  15 USD / month

Reliability: Low

Another approach you can take with website development is using an open-source application like WordPress, Joomla, or Shopify. You can configure and install these applications for free by using your web hosting control panel. Once installed, you can easily customize the template to a professional website.

Price and Reliability of this solution

Solution type: All by your self-development using open source platforms

Project Size: Suitable for small &  medium companies

Ease of use: Easy to build a website with the basic features. Need expertise if you need more advanced features or a highly interactive websites.

Expected Cost PKR:  10000/ to -15000/-

Reliability: Medium

Another approach you can take for website development is to hire a freelancer developer. Freelancers are relatively cheaper. There are many online platforms like Freelancer, Odesk and Fiverr, etc. You may join these platforms by creating an online account. You may select a developer from a list of hundreds of potential developers by paying a small fee. Working with a freelancer is a good choice for small projects. But when it comes to medium to large projects. I don’t recommend a freelancer developer. As freelancer primarily operates individually and has a limited skill set. She could be a good designer, developer, or SEO expert but not all at once. To develop a complete brand identity, you need multiple skills together in one place.

Price and Reliability of this solution

Solution type: Website development by hiring  a freelance web developer

Project Size: Suitable for small &  medium companies

Ease of use: Excellent choice of you can find a good reliable freelance web developer

Expected Cost PKR:  10000/ to -75000/-

Reliability: Low / Medium

Now, let’s discuss the last approach you can take for your web development project. If you are looking for a web development resource that could help you professionally develop your website and could also excellent maintenance and support services. Go for a web development agency in Pakistan as choosing a professional web development company is an ideal choice.

But you have to be careful while shortlisting any development company in Pakistan as many of these online web development agencies are either a one-person army or have minimal resources. Click here to see how to choose a perfect development firm for your web development needs.

Price and Reliability of this solution

Solution type: Website development by hiring  a web development company 

Project Size:  Suitable for small &  medium and big enterprises

Expected Cost PKR:  20000/ to -500000/-

Reliability: High